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psa: y'all for the last time it's close not close

Your first 10 customers will teach you what works. 🔧 Your first 100 customers will teach you what SCALES. 📈 Most founders get stuck between the two—unable to break out of founder-led sales or stuck chasing the wrong customers. In this video, Close CEO Steli Efti breaks down what you need to learn from your first 100 customers so you can turn early traction into a repeatable, scalable business.

when the deal is in progress but your champion puts in their two weeks' notice

“What are the best interview questions to ask when hiring salespeople?” That’s the number one question hiring managers want answered. But is this even the *right* question? 🤔 We asked our CEO Steli Efti to revisit the sales hiring advice he shared 10 years ago as a first-time founder. Has his approach changed since then? Watch Steli’s full take in the video below. ⬇️ Sales leaders: Do you agree with Steli’s approach, or do you have a different method that works for you?

Was Close built on a grand romantic gesture? 🤔

What kind of customers buy from early stage startups? When you have no brand, no social proof, and no track record, selling feels impossible. But the truth is—some buyers would LOVE to take a chance on your solution. You just need to know who they are. In this video, Close CEO Steli Efti breaks down the 3 types of buyers most likely to say yes first—so you can stop wondering and start closing deals.

There are two major lessons sales teams can learn from the Top Gun films: ✈️ Feel the need—the need for speed. ✈️ Don’t think. Just do. Most sales teams hesitate, overthink, and let valuable leads slip away. But the best teams? They call first and close first. Did you know you’re 21 TIMES MORE LIKELY to convert a lead if you respond within 5 minutes vs. responding in 30 minutes? 🤯 When a lead fills out your form, they’re not just sitting around waiting for you to call. They’re researching your competitors too. Every minute that ticks off the clock is another minute your lead will spend opening new browser tabs to explore your competitors’ sites. The longer you wait, the more time you give them to reach out to someone else. The race starts the second that form is submitted. Whoever calls first has the best shot at winning the deal. So here’s how to win: ✅ LIMIT PREP TIME: Don’t overanalyze. Just grab their name, company, and key pain points, and dial. You must feel the need—the need for speed. ✅ USE AUTOMATION: Integrate your forms with your CRM so new leads appear instantly in your workflow. Automated workflows will beat your email inbox in a race any day. ✅ FORGET “PERFECT” CALLS: Speed matters more than a polished pitch. A natural, curious conversation beats a scripted, delayed one. Don’t think. Just Do. What’s your fastest callback time? Let’s get a competition going. 🏁

This Valentine’s Day, show off your sales rizz by sending one of these Close Valentine’s Cards to that special someone. Wishing you repeat business and long-term retention, The Relationship Experts at Close 💕

🥔 Here’s what we learned about B2B SaaS from selling potatoes … (OMG these LinkedIn posts are getting ridiculous) No, but, for real. Let me explain… Koen Stam didn’t learn sales from a book. He learned it the hard way—selling potatoes with his family as a young boy in Amsterdam. His father owned a 150-year-old family trading business. Koen worked six days a week, 70+ hours, starting at 5 a.m. as a small kid. Talk about no-BS sales. Here’s what he learned selling potatoes that became the foundation for his sales career: 🥔 CARRY THE BAGS. Koen shared there would be three potato wholesalers right next to each other on the same street selling the same products. Why did customers choose them? Service. They’d carry bags to customers’ cars. The little things weren’t little—they were everything. Customer-centricity wins. 🥔 STAY LONGER. On Saturdays, they kept the doors open later. Last-minute buyers had one choice: them. Sales isn’t always about being better. Sometimes, it’s just about being available to help when others aren’t. 🥔 BUILD CONNECTION. Saturdays were a special buying experience. While staying open later, they’d blast music and make it a fun time, being private and building rapport with their customers. From potatoes to SaaS, the fundamentals don’t change. Serve your customers, put in the work, and think big. Thanks for sharing your story with us, Koen. Do you have an atypical sales story that made a difference in your career?

Your first 10 customers will be special. 🥰 Not for purely sentimental reasons, but because they offer something much more valuable than money: insights. (Yes, insights are more valuable than money at this stage. Seriously.) If you’ve got a great business idea but zero customers, let Close CEO Steli Efti walk you through how to land your first 10 customers—and make the most of your time with them.